Discoveries of new species in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park continue to make news for the ambitious project known as the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, a quest to survey every living organism in the world’s biosphere reserve.

The ninth annual ATBI Conference will be held Dec. 6 through 9 in Gatlinburg, Tenn.. It is organized by the park and the non-profit Discover Life in America, which supports and coordinates the ongoing inventory.

The annual meeting is open to anyone who wants to learn about the species inventory in a park rapidly gaining recognition as one of the top diversity capitals in the world. The conference will bring together the public, scientists, researchers, volunteers, other parks and preserves across the country, universities, and research organizations such as the Smithsonian Institution and the Academy of Natural Sciences.

As of October 2005, more than 565 newly identified species have been discovered in the Smokies, including moths, slime molds, algae, spiders, flies, and soil arthropods. Far from being insignificant, such organisms form the underpinning of entire ecosystems and support the larger plants and animals, including humans. In addition, more than 3,572 species that have been documented that were previously not known to dwell in the park.

The keynote speaker, Daniel Janzen, an eminent tropical ecologist and entomologist, will give a lecture on a new method of DNA bar-coding at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Dec., 7 at the Sugarlands Visitor Center near the Gatlinburg entrance to the park. Janzen and his wife and research partner, Winnie Hallwachs, are working on a project to survey the entire butterfly and moth fauna of the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, northwestern Costa Rica, has been using a new method of DNA bar-coding in his inventory, which could aid the ATBI project in the Great Smokies. Janzen was recently featured in the November issue of Smithsonian magazine as one of “35 Who Made a Difference.”

On Thursday afternoon, Dr. Dave Wagner, board member of Discover Life in America and lepidopterist from the University of Connecticut, will give a talk on the “Myriad Defenses of Caterpillars” illustrated with pictures from his new book, A Field Guide to Caterpillars of Eastern North America.

Contributions provided by Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association have helped to finance the project to date along with individual donations, support from the National Park Service, and corporate involvement. Sponsors of this year’s ATBI Conference include Martin Microscope Company, Mountain National Bank, Carolina Biological, The Park Grill/Peddler restaurants, Smoky Mountain Winery and National Parks Conservation Association.

The registration fee for the entire conference is $80 or a one-day fee of $25. Advance registration is encouraged and is required for Janzen’s keynote address and reception.

For more information or to register for the conference, contact Jeanie Hilten at Discover Life in America, 865.430.4752 or go to at www.dlia.org.